I'll Be There
by RyukoVulpix
Summary: Follow up to 'Rivals and Friends.' The Silver Conference is over, and two rivals are going their separate ways. But in a day, can Shigeru heal a wound between him and Satoshi that has hurt for years?


_Author's Notes: This story switches between Shigeru's and Satoshi's POVs._

_Please enjoy!_

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**I'll Be There**

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_The Silver Conference is over._

_I finished... decently._

_I'm proud of it... _

The morning sun shone in through the window of my lodge room, lighting up my red-brown hair.

I walked around the small area, packing up my belongings. I was going off to Mt. Silver, then going back home.

This was my last tournament. I was going to become a Pokémon scientist, like my grandfather...

... but I sighed, thinking about it.

I bit my lip as that image came to me...

... Satoshi...

... staring at me, disbelieving...

... just a few days earlier.

_Satoshi... _

What were you thinking, just a few hours ago?

It's not like I'm _leaving... _ not for good, anyway...

... you can still find me... just call Grandpa... he'll let me know...

But I know I'm fighting a losing battle against my own mind.

_Come on, Satoshi... we won't fight anymore... things will be back to the way they were before... _

_... we've both got our dreams ahead of us, Satoshi... _

I'd probably realized it when I was battling you...

I sighed and slumped down on the sofa in the room.

I had gotten together most of my things, ready to leave... I just needed to pack...

... but how can I leave like this... ?

I'll admit... over the past few days, we've grown closer than I can remember in years...

... but it's not enough.

A few days doesn't heal a wound that's lasted for more than a few years.

Another sigh.

'_Satoshi... haven't you forgiven me yet... ?'_

_Maybe, but you won't know unless you ask,_ a voice says in my mind. My conscience?

'_But how do I _ask?_ I don't want to make a fool of myself... '_

I shook it off, and continued getting my stuff, even though I wasn't leaving until that afternoon and there was barely anything left. I checked my bag to make sure I had everything I needed.

I went back to my bag, to start putting everything away...

... I frowned, realizing that it was a mess... notes, trash, junk... I should clean it out. Good thing I'd checked first...

As I dug through everything, deciding what I should keep and what could be tossed, my hand bumped against something near the bottom...

_... what? What was... ?_

_... I still _had _this thing? Why didn't I use it before--_

But it came to me.

_How perfect... I'm sure Satoshi will like it... _

I pulled the object out of my bag, looking it over.

_Wow... it's still in pretty good shape... _

I smiled. Satoshi would need this more than me... how lucky that I'd chosen the right color...

I set it down on the coffee table while I packed my belongings. It only took a manner of minutes, since I traveled pretty light...

I glanced at Satoshi's present, and wondered if he'd understand the meaning behind it... probably not. Ah, well...

... but I wondered if it was enough.

Could one little thing help close the gap between us... ?

How could I explain...

... how could I tell him how much I wanted to end our fighting, once and for all... ?

How could I say that I... I wanted to take back...

... all those names I called him...

... _jari-booi... _ loser...

I sat down on the couch again and picked up Satoshi's present...

It was empty.

I glanced at the table next to the sofa, where a lamp was sitting. Beneath it was a pad of stationary.

I looked from the paper, to the object in my hand, and back to the paper.

Grinning, I grabbed a pencil out of my bag, got the paper, and started writing...

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I finished gathering my stuff and packing it in my backpack.

Clothes... rubber gloves... Pokémon food... underwear... ??

Hehe... Mom must have given me that...

I carefully placed the small bag containing that half of a PokéBall into a soft place, where it wouldn't get broken.

I smiled. That half PokéBall meant a lot to me...

... it kind of meant more to me now than ever, I think...

_... I beat Shigeru in a Pokémon battle... and at the Silver Conference, too... _

I smiled to myself... but then a feeling like regret kind of washed over me, too...

_Sorry, Shigeru... I couldn't beat Hazuki for you... _

But I guess he was cool with it. After all, he and Hazuki were going to be traveling a while, until Hazuki got to the road to the Indigo Plateau and Shigeru reached Mt. Silver...

I sighed. Shigeru had just told everyone that he'd decided to be a Pokémon researcher now...

_I guess... I'm the only one left from Masara Town who's still trying to be a Pokémon Master... _

Huh... all these years, always being one step behind him... and now that I was finally _ahead,_ it wasn't as cool as I thought...

Ah, it's okay... I'll keep trying, Shigeru... I'll do it for you, too--

My thoughts were interrupted by Kasumi, coming over to check on me...

"_Hey, Satoshi, are you done packing yet?"_

"Yeah, just about... "

"Shigeru just called and said that he and Hazuki want to meet up with us again before we all leave."

"Really? That's nice."

Kasumi left. "I've got to go finish packing, too," she said, smiling.

...

I guess Shigeru wanted to say good-bye, too... for who knew how long.

For the first time in years, I felt like I'd really miss him this time...

Hm.

It was so weird.

A few days ago, two days before my battle with Shigeru, I could've _sworn_ that I heard him talking to me in my sleep...

But would Shigeru _really _say...

...

I shook it off. That had been a really strange dream...

But... it'd be nice if it were true...

... it'd be nice... if he really did want to be friends again, like we used to be...

But it was still kind of hard to imagine _Shigeru_ saying something that nice...

... although, he did come pretty close to it, in the past few days...

I wondered if he really was sorry for everything he'd said to me...

... ah, well... Shigeru will be Shigeru, I guess.

I closed my backpack and zipped it up.

It was about nine. About three or four hours till lunch... we were meeting Shigeru and Hazuki. Then we were going to leave.

We decided to move out of Silver Town quickly and not spend another night, mainly because I was so excited to get back to Masara. I grinned. Mom and Ookido Hakase had already left.

I couldn't _wait_ to get back home...

I sat down on the couch, next to where Pikachu was taking a nap.

"_Pika... chaa!"_ it squeaked, yawning.

"It's all right, little buddy... go back to sleep." Pikachu curled up next to me and fell asleep again.

It kind of reminded me of how Shigeru and I would always fall asleep in his grandpa's backyard...

I nodded off too.

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_Eleven-thirty... almost time to leave... _

I stared at the note, which I'd spent the last few hours trying to write.

'_Eh... Satoshi won't notice if it sounds stupid,'_ I decided. _'What a naive little... '_

Someone knocked on the door. I answered. It was Hazuki.

"Hey, Shigeru, you almost ready to leave? We were going to go meet Satoshi and his friends for dinner, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember... I was just finishing something up... "

"Really? Maybe I can help."

"Nah, this is... personal... "

"All right, whatever you say. But we have to leave pretty soon."

"I know, I'm almost done... You can come in." I left the door open and went back to my writing.

"Hmph... " I stared at it, read it over once more, then folded it up and put it away...

"Okay, I'm ready," I said, heaving my bag over one shoulder.

"Okay," Hazuki replied.

There wasn't much talk until we reached the ramen restaurant.

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_Ramen, ramen, ramen, ramen, ramen... I was _really _hungry... _

"Satoshi, slow down, you're going to choke," Kasumi said to me.

"I'm hungry!" I kept eating.

Shigeru laughed. "Haha... you haven't changed _at all,_ have you?"

"Hmm?" I looked up from the bowl of noodles. Takeshi laughed.

"It takes a lot to feed him, that's for sure... "

Pikachu looked up from the plate of Pokémon food that Takeshi had made, that it was sharing with Togepi. "Pika, chuu... "

"Even your Pikachu agrees with us," Hazuki joked. They all started laughing.

I grinned. I guess I did eat a lot. But I was hungry...

Shigeru watched me in amusement. "Satoshi, I haven't stopped wondering where you put it all... "

"Let me finish first... " I said, finishing the noodles.

Shigeru rolled his eyes at me. He said to the others, "Back when we were kids, Satoshi here set the town record for most bowls of ramen eaten in one sitting... "

Kasumi, Takeshi, and Hazuki laughed. Takeshi said, "I believe you... what was the record?"

"... I think it was... six," both of us said at the same time. The others looked shocked.

"Satoshi... you ate _six_ bowls of ramen... at _once?!"_ Kasumi said, dropping the chopsticks into her bowl.

Shigeru poked me in the side. "Yeah, and you were sick for two days afterward... " he grinned.

I smiled. "But I set the record, didn't I?"

"Yeah, the record formerly held by _me... "_

"But _you_ never ate six bowls of ramen, did you?" I grinned.

"No, maybe not, but then again I didn't have to lie in bed all day with a stomachache."

"... be quiet, Shigeru... " Shigeru started laughing.

I smiled at him. "But then you came and wanted to play with me, but Mom said I couldn't play that day, so you sat in my window and waited for me to get better."

"Yeah. I was waiting for _two days... "_

"Sounds like you two were pretty close friends," said Hazuki.

"Yeah... we were... " Shigeru said slowly.

"Who said anything about 'were'? Aren't we still?" I asked...

_... remembering that weird dream... _

Shigeru looked at me in surprise. "Are we?"

"_Are_ we?" I asked, drinking the last of the soup.

Shigeru looked at me for a little longer, then smiled. "Yeah... whatever you say... "

Takeshi signaled to a waiter that we were done. "I'll take the bill," he offered.

"No, it's okay, I'll pay," Hazuki said.

Kasumi smiled. "No, don't, we wouldn't dump the expense of feeding Satoshi onto you," she laughed.

"... hey!"

Shigeru laughed. "Nah, it's okay, Kasumi, I'm used to being around Satoshi when he's eating." He grinned at me. "Don't put your hands near him, or you're liable to lose a finger."

I sighed, but then I had to giggle. It was an old joke...

Takeshi sighed at us. "I'll pay the bill," he repeated.

"No, it's all right, I'll take it," Hazuki said.

"_I'll_ take it," Takeshi said.

"No, it's fine, I'll--"

"Wait, no, we're treating you out to this--"

"_QUIET!!"_ Kasumi yelled, standing up. Everyone sat, looking at her. "Why don't you two just split it?"

"Um... " Takeshi and Hazuki shrugged. "Okay."

"Fine," Kasumi said. "I'll be outside."

"Wait for me," I said, getting off of the chair.

"Satoshi, wait for _me,"_ Shigeru said, standing up.

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_The afternoon sun was warm as I walked outside with Satoshi and Kasumi._

We waited for Hazuki and Takeshi to get outside.

"So... Satoshi... " I started. "How do you feel?"

"Hmm?" He looked at me blankly.

"The tournament. What did you think?"

He grinned like a little kid. "It was fun!"

"Yeah... " I smiled too. "You know... you've gotten a lot better at battling from when I last saw you... "

He shrugged. "Yeah... you beat me last time."

"Mm-hmm." The two of us just stood there, thinking...

Kasumi broke the silence. "You both did well. I'm sure all of Masara Town is going to be proud of you."

Just then, Hazuki and Takeshi came walking up. Takeshi raised an eyebrow at Satoshi.

"I'm wondering if you were trying to beat your old record at eating ramen... "

"No... " Satoshi said. "Did I really eat that much?"

The rest of us laughed.

The five of us walked to the road that led away from Silver Town.

"I guess this is good-bye, huh?" Kasumi said. They were headed south; Hazuki and I were headed north.

"Yeah... " I was about to reach into my pocket when...

All of a sudden, a huge rumbled appeared from the west. We all turned and saw a giant building on wheels headed toward us.

'_What the heck?!'_ I thought.

"Rocket-Dan... " I heard Satoshi mutter.

Team Rocket. Going to attempt to steal Pikachu.

Again.

But this time, they fired a missile, right at Satoshi and Pikachu...

When the missile exploded, the two of them fell backwards quite a ways...

From the moving building came a huge net, headed straight for Pikachu.

"You just try," I muttered, then sent out Blastoise. "Hydro Pump!"

Blastoise's Hydro Pump snapped the net in half. Hazuki took up his part and sent out his Blaziken.

"Flamethrower!!"

I was impressed. The single Flamethrower engulfed the entire machine in flames.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Satoshi called, doing his part and finishing the job.

I was even more impressed with Pikachu's attack. Not many trainers can raise a Pikachu to have a power of that magnitude...

The combination of heat and electricity caused the building to explode, sending the three Rocket-Dan members flying.

"Okay, that was... interesting," Hazuki said.

I laughed. He didn't know how often Satoshi had to deal with the Rocket-Dan...

"Thanks, Hazuki, for helping us out," Kasumi said.

Hazuki looked at me and Satoshi. "You know, even though you're going separate ways, you're still always going to be competitors, huh?"

"Yeah!" we answered at the same time.

I smiled. Now was probably good...

I reached out to shake hands with Satoshi. "Keep working hard to be a Pokémon Master, Satoshi."

He shook hands with me. "And you keep working to be a Pokémon researcher... hm?"

I slipped the small object from my hand into his. He looked at it for a moment...

Takeshi spoke to me. "I'm looking forward to hearing some of your research," he said.

"Yeah, me too," Kasumi added.

"Okay," I replied. I looked back at Satoshi just in time to see him drop his present into his pocket. He grinned.

"I guess this is good-bye," I said, and we walked down our opposite paths.

"Hmm... " I sighed, watching Satoshi walk away.

'_See you sometime, Satoshi... '_

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I was walking ahead of Takeshi and Kasumi, like usual. Pikachu was sitting on my shoulder.

I pulled out the PokéBall that Shigeru had just given me and looked at it more carefully.

I grinned.

What a cool PokéBall! It was empty. It looked like a normal one, but it was colored green... It looked kind of familiar...

"What's that you've got there, Satoshi?" Kasumi asked, now walking right next to me on the right.

"Hey, that's one of the custom PokéBalls that Kurt builds," Takeshi said, standing on my other side. He set down his backpack and pulled out his Pokémon Handbook. "Let's see here... "

"Is that a new one, Takeshi?" Kasumi asked.

"Mm-hmm... let's see... ah, here," Takeshi said. "'Built with a Green Apricorn, Friend Balls make Pokémon more friendly towards the trainer.' How interesting."

_A... Friend Ball... ?_

"Neat, Satoshi. Where'd you get it?" Kasumi asked.

"Shigeru. Just a little bit ago... "

"That was nice of him," Takeshi said. "I'm guessing those are rather hard to come by."

"Yeah... "

We walked for about a mile before it was too dark to see anymore. Takeshi and I set up camp while Kasumi went to get water.

All the while, I kept the Friend Ball in my pocket.

'_Maybe Shigeru really does want to be friends again... '_ I thought.

After dinner, we got out our sleeping bags and spread them on the ground.

I yawned, then took off my jacket, removing the Friend Ball from the pocket. But as I moved it, I heard something bump inside.

'_What? It's not a Pokémon,'_ I thought.

I pressed the small button on the front, and the lower half dropped open.

"Wow... " Inside the ball was a folded piece of paper. It was labeled, _"To Satoshi"._

"Satoshi? What are you doing?" Takeshi asked. "Go to sleep."

"Um, yeah, just a minute... " I called, sitting on my sleeping bag and opening the paper. In the firelight, I could _just_ read it...

"Fine, Satoshi, but put out the fire when you go to sleep," Kasumi called from her sleeping bag, motioning to the bucket of water.

"Okay," I replied. Takeshi and Kasumi went to sleep. I unfolded the paper all the way and started reading...

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_To Satoshi..._

_Listen. I just wanted to say that I'm glad we were both at the Silver Conference. Because if one of us weren't here, then I'd never have this chance to apologize._

_Yes, you read correctly. I want to apologize. I was thinking about it, two days before our battle, and I really want to take back all those times I made fun of you and called you jari-booi and loser and all that. I know that I can't take back what I said, but I can apologize... and hope you forgive me._

_Do you know what the PokéBall I gave you is called? It's called a Friend Ball. It's made from a Green Apricorn. I got it in Azalea Town, from my grandpa's friend, Kurt._

_Keep it. Not just because it's, well, a "Friend" Ball, but I think it'll help you out on your Pokémon journey. I figured you might want it more than I need it. Ask your friend Takeshi what it does._

_But besides this... I want to know... _

_... can you forgive me? I know it's probably a little hard, but I want to take away all of the hurt I must have caused you in the past few years. Because I care about what happens to you, Satoshi. You're my best friend. Actually, you're my biggest rival, too._

_Which, I think, makes it all the more special._

_We're always going to be competitive. I know that. There's no stopping either one of us when we've got our mind set on something._

_But I don't want us to be so competitive that it gets to the point where we stopped being friends. I don't want to go through that again. Don't you remember when we said that we were going to grow up and be Pokémon Masters together?_

_All right... I guess I'm going to be a Pokémon researcher now. But don't give up on your dream, Satoshi. Ever. Promise me._

_Remember that song? "Growin' Up Till The Day We Meet Again"? That's us, isn't it?_

_You haven't changed at all from when we were little. But I think I have._

_I don't want to hurt you anymore. If I ever call you "loser" again, you have a special privilege to punch me in the face. Promise._

_Although I don't really think you'd do that. You're too warmhearted for that._

_Anyway... I'm not very good at writing letters. But I just want you to know that, well, I want things to be the way they used to be._

_Growing up separate from each other for these past few years? It's really changed me, I think. I don't know about you, though._

_Just know that I'm still here, whenever you need me. If you really need to get in touch with me, just call. (And I mean with the _phone,_ Satoshi. Not your voice. Although, knowing you, they could probably hear you all the way in Hoenn if you yelled loud enough.) You can probably find me through Grandpa._

_I guess this is good-bye, for a while. Not for forever._

_But forever is how long we're going to be friends._

_(And rivals, too, I guess.)_

_I'll see you around sometime._

_From,_

_Ookido Shigeru_

_P.S.: Yes, I said you can keep the PokéBall. Catch something nice._

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I finished reading the letter and sat quietly by the dying fire.

"_Shigeru... "_

Wow... I was speechless.

_He really meant this... ?_

I guess... he wouldn't have wasted paper if he didn't mean it.

Wow...

I picked up the empty PokéBall, the Friend Ball, and looked at it again.

"You like?"

I was startled by Shigeru's voice, right behind me.

"Shigeru? I thought you were going around Mt. Silver?"

"Yeah, but I decided to circle around and see if you found the note." He grinned sheepishly. "I know. I stink at writing."

"No, it's good... it's... " I faltered.

"Ah, whatever you think," Shigeru said to me. He sat down next to me on my sleeping bag.

"So... " he started. "Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you forgive me?"

"... yeah."

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_I sighed. I didn't know if Satoshi was being truthful._

"It's okay if you don't, you know... I mean, I said some pretty bad--"

"It's fine. Forget about it. You're forgiven," he said, folding my letter back up and putting it in the Friend Ball.

"... really?"

"Yes, really. What, do I have to earn your trust?"

"Well, I have to earn your forgiveness."

"You already did."

"... you're serious then."

"Yes, I'm serious," he said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Just making sure."

"Hmm... " He turned and smiled at me. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"The PokéBall! It's so cool!"

I smiled. "Yeah. I knew you liked that kind of thing."

"Kurt gave me a Lure Ball when I stopped by his place. I used it to catch Totodile."

"Really?" How interesting.

Satoshi and I were quiet for a little longer. Then we both looked up at the night sky.

There wasn't a full moon that night. There wouldn't be one for a few more weeks.

Satoshi sighed. I knew what he was thinking.

'_I wish this could last forever... '_

Satoshi sighed and lay back on his sleeping bag. "What time is it?" he asked me. I checked my bag for a clock.

"_Umm... _ about ten-thirty."

Satoshi smiled. "My mom would kill me for staying up this late."

I laughed. That was true...

"I'd better get going," I said.

"Hey, just stay around here for the night. You can get going in the morning," Satoshi offered.

I shrugged. "Sure." I unrolled my sleeping bag.

"Mm... what's going on?" Satoshi and I looked at Kasumi in surprise. We'd kind of forgotten that she and Takeshi were still there.

"Shigeru?" she said in surprise, seeing me. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, you know, just checking in on you guys." I laughed, feeling kind of self-conscious.

"Hmm... it's late, Shigeru... " Takeshi said, also sitting up. "Just sleep here for the night... " Takeshi then dropped backwards and went to sleep.

"Yeah... I'd better," I said. I kicked off my shoes and started to crawl into the sleeping bag, which I'd placed between Satoshi and Kasumi's.

"Hey, Shigeru?" I heard Satoshi say.

"What?"

Satoshi looked around, then crawled close to me. "Psst... " he whispered.

"What?"

Satoshi grinned, then tapped me on the shoulder. "Tag! You're it!!" He jumped up and dashed into the trees.

"_Satoshi!!_ It's too late!" Kasumi said, but I could tell she was smiling.

I grinned and looked at her. Her eyes widened, and she scooted backwards out of her sleeping bag, careful not to disturb the Togepi lying nearby.

"Shigeru, don't... you... dare!" she said, standing up.

I grinned, then ran towards her, lightly touching her on the arm and dashing past. "Tag! Kasumi's it!"

"Really?!" Satoshi poked his head out from behind a tree.

"Ooh, Satoshi, look out!" Kasumi yelled, running towards him. _"You_ started all this!"

"Hahaha!" he yelled, running away from the angry red-head.

Takeshi had sat up again. "You kids... you're crazy," he muttered.

"Satoshi's it!" Kasumi cried, running back into the camping area.

"Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu blinked sleepily, just in time to see Satoshi run past and try to tag me.

"Haha!!" I laughed as I dodged out of the way. Kasumi who had been standing a few feet behind me, was Satoshi's next target.

"_Get back here, both of you!"_ Satoshi and I looked back to see an angry Kasumi, feet pounding the ground.

"Uh oh!" Satoshi said to me in mock horror.

"Come on, let's go!" We dashed away from Kasumi, laughing too hard and too excited to sleep.

"Pikapi... " Satoshi's Pikachu shook its head at us, then smiled.

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Anyone who would have passed by later would have seen a small campfire, now reduced to glowing embers, and heard the voices of two friends, singing...

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"_I wasn't able to smile_

_The time when I first met you_

_I wasn't able to say 'Hello'_

_Really, I wanted to say it_

_But now,_

_We're friends, right?_

_Under the setting sun_

_Let's promise_

_Again, tomorrow_

_Together, let's play... "_

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_The future holds a lot of things._

_But, the most important to us, right now, is our friendship._

_._

_._

_._

_Fin_

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_Author's Notes: If you enjoyed this story, please also read "Golden Rivals, Silver Friends," which can be found on my profile._

_Thank you for reading!_


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